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Mussolini's March on Rome
Mussolini organized a huge march through Rome on October 27th, 1922 as a public demonstration to promote his Fascist Party. This march resulted in his party to taking control of the country with promises to restore honor back to Italy. -
Hitler writes Mein Kampf
In July of 1925, Hitler published his book Mein Kampf meaning "My Struggle" that went into great detail of what his plans were for once he was out of prison. -
1st "Five Year Plan" in USSR
This was a plan put in place by Stalin that aimed to quickly industrialize the USSR but at the cost of a huge decrease in consumer goods. During this time millions of Soviets moved into the cities and farms became collectivized. -
Stalin becomes Dictator of USSR
In 1929, Joseph Stalin had climbed his way to control over the USSR. With his iron grip on the nation and its people, he would become a big player in the war and would infamously rack up millions of casualties as a result of it. -
Japan invades Manchuria
Since Japan is on volcanic land, there are very little natural resources. The Japanese decided to invade Manchuria in China for their natural resources such as oil and wood to make up for it. -
The Holodomor Famine
In Soviet Ukraine, a terrible famine caused by drought killed over 3 million Soviets. It was caused by Stalin taking away small farms in favor of state-run collectives as a way to punish the Ukrainians for resisting his power. -
Hitler appointed chancellor of Germany
In January of 1933, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany, which was a huge step in his rise to power. Only months after he became chancellor he would go on to take control of Germany with his Nazi Party. -
"Night of the Long Knives"
Also known as the Röhm Putsch, this was a purge against the Nazi's political competition, the SA. The SS and Gestapo killed over 150 were killed and many more were arrested in the process. This was all planned out to essentially eliminate Hitler's competition. -
Nuremberg Laws enacted
The Nuremberg laws were a set of antisemitic laws in Germany set by the Nazis that were meant to discriminate Jews and other groups of people. It prevented them from being able to marry Germans and defined who was considered a Jew. -
Italy invades Ethiopia
This was regarded as one of the causes of WWII's beginning, when Italy invaded Ethiopia. It showed that the recently created League of Nations was ineffective and had no way of enforcing against war. -
The Great Purge/Gulags
In 1936, Joseph Stalin would begin to eliminate those who opposed the Communist ideology for the next 2 years. Over 750,000 people were executed during this time, and more than a million were sent to labor camps known as "Gulags" -
Spanish Civil War
From 1936 to 1939, the Spanish fought a civil war caused by the failure of democracy between the Nationalist rebels and Republicans. Francisco Franco led the rebellion army and would go on to become dictator of Spain upon victory. -
The Rape of Nanking
During the second Sino-Japanese War, Japan invaded the capitol of China at the time, Nanking. Thousands of cilivians were killed and women were raped and were usually brutually mutilated or killed in the process. -
Kristallnacht
Also known as Night of the Broken Glass, Jewish synagogues and businesses were burned down by Nazis. The authorities were told to do nothing, so the Nazis were free to vandalize and even kill up to 100 Jews that night. -
Nazi Germany invades Poland
On September 1st of 1939, Hitler and his forces invaded Poland to regain the lost territory from WWI. He began employing his "blitzkreig" military strategy that overwhelmed the enemy with brute force and allowed him to take control of Poland. -
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor
On December 12th, 1941, Japanese aerial forces bombed multiple military ships and over 300 airplanes, killing 2,400 Americans in the crossfire. Americans were outraged at this, and it was the final straw that led to America joining the war.